Gothic Imagery in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley’s Frankenstein

The present study aims to discuss the Gothic elements in the short story A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner, and the novel Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelly. The study focuses on the various mechanisms provided by the authors to create an atmosphere of gloom and mystery, illustrated by death and loneliness which are dominant themes in these works. Moreover, it will be noted how the two aforementioned works become a reaction to social conduct which was accepted by the social classes in the societies of that time. One of the purposes of this study is to discuss the Southern Gothic style of writing as a criticism of the social beliefs of people, and the destructive force of the sociological and psychological context of a society governed by pre-established rules and ideas. Southern Gothic literature is inspired by Gothic writing which tries to expose the conflict in the inner world of damaged characters with extraordinary and supernatural capabilities, while in the Southern Gothic style of writing, characters lack the unusual powers found in the Gothic literature. Therefore, the two aforementioned genres will be the subjects of discussion as they relate to each other and to the story. This study tries to explore the Gothic view of the sociological context during that time by the two aforementioned authors, and the effect of it had on the life of the characters in these works.

کلیدواژه ها:

Conflict ، Genre ، Gothic literature ، Social conducts ، Southern Gothic.